Women's World Cup Draw

Big day for Women's Soccer as the draw for the 2011 World Cup in Germany was announced today. The United States, who squeaked in with a win over Italy in a playoff last week is paired with familiar foes North Korea and Sweden as well as World Cup newcomer Colombia. This marks the fourth straight World Cup that will feature a matchup between the United States and North Korea during the Group Stage. The U.S. won the first two by scores of 3-0 in 1999 and 2003, but the two teams tied in their last meeting in China in 2007. In Sweden, the United States has a very familiar adversary with the two sides having played 7 times since the beginning of 2007. The United States has won 5 of those matches, including a 2-0 win in China during the Group Stage of the 2007 World Cup, the two teams tied once, and Sweden won the other in a shootout. The United States has outscored Sweden 13-4 over those 7 matches and won the most recent meeting 3-0 on July 17 in East Hartford.

Here’s how the rest of the groups stack up with the latest FIFA rankings in parentheses:

Group A:
Germany (2)
Canada (9)
Nigeria (27)
France (8)

Group B:
Japan (5)
New Zealand (23)
Mexico (22)
England (10)

Group C:
United States (1)
North Korea (6)
Colombia (32)
Sweden (4)

Group D:
Brazil (3)
Australia (12)
Equatorial Guinea (62)
Norway (7)

Photo Courtesy: blog.syracuse.com